Learning and Skills volunteer

Education and engagement can transform the lives of homeless people, and Crisis Christmas provides an exciting opportunity to involve our guests in a range of stimulating activities. During the week we will offer a meaningful, inspirational and fun programme of Learning and Skills, Arts and Crafts and Entertainments activities. Once again we are looking for an army of passionate volunteers to provide them.

Learning and skills volunteers

Whether you are an experienced teacher, a dedicated tutor, or simply a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, we would love to have you on our Learning and Skills team; the most important attribute we are looking for is enthusiasm. As in previous years, we will be running IT, numeracy, literacy, creative writing and ESOL sessions, but if you have an idea for alternative topics you think would be valuable, or of interest to our guests please get in touch. In previous years, for example, we have run CV writing classes, yoga lessons and life skills workshops.

Arts and crafts volunteers

Arts and crafts activities have always been hugely popular. Many of our guests have discovered previously hidden talents for drawing, painting, 3D modelling or mosaic work, and later gone on to develop these skills at Crisis Skylight. The Arts and crafts volunteers have found that leading these activities has been exceptionally rewarding and provides a unique opportunity to engage with our guests on a personal level.

Entertainments volunteers

To compliment our educational activities we will once again be planning a full range of entertainments including bingo, scrabble, football, cricket, karaoke, music, singing and magic. To do this, we will need a wide range of games and sports organisers, as well as performers of all flavours. The entertainments programme has always been very well appreciated by our guests; if you are an outgoing performer, or can organise our quieter entertainments, we would love to have you on the team.

What experience do I need?

For our learning and skills, and arts and crafts teams, we would primarily be looking for volunteers with a passion for education, and a genuine enthusiasm for their specialism. We will be particularly pleased to receive applications from qualified and experienced teachers and tutors.

For our entertainments team, we are looking for volunteers who can convey a sense of enthusisam to our guests. The games and sports organisers should be willing to engage with our guests on a personal level. Our entertainers should be self-supporting acts; we will not have the time or resources available to form bands from individuals.

What commitment do I need to make?

Volunteers need to commit to a minimum of two shifts, so this means volunteering on two days between 23 and 30 December inclusive. The Learning and Skills, and Arts and Crafts shifts are from 9 am to 6 pm each day. The nature of entertainments means the shift patterns are more flexible.

Turning up on time!

Reliability is a key issue and we need all volunteers to turn up on time for allocated shifts.